California has won approval from the Obama administration to extend full Medicaid coverage to low-income pregnant women, patching a glitch in the Affordable Care Act that left many women with limited coverage.
Even though California extended full Medicaid coverage under the ACA to all women with incomes up to 138% of poverty, those who are pregnant at the time they enroll are given a limited set of benefits because of a previous federal rule allowing states to cover less than full Medicaid benefits for pregnant women.
Eight state Medicaid programs have coverage options that are limited to pregnancy-related services. A federal Medicaid commission asked Congress to require states to provide the same comprehensive benefits to pregnant women who are eligible for Medicaid based on their pregnancy as those that are furnished to women who are eligible based on their status as parents of dependent children.
In 2013, several professional and advocacy groups detailed cases of pregnant women in California's Medi-Cal program who did not receive coverage for broken bones, osteomyelitis, a brain tumor or heart disease.
California now has permission to eliminate the limited coverage option.